In skating flexibility per se isn't essential, it's what skaters and choreographers do with it. A beautiful spiral timed to coincide with an emotional peak in the music seems to make time stop. It's a moment of beauty and peace in a program that's otherwise crammed with complex athletic feats. The appeal is almost universal (apart from a few critics on skating boards ). And it can't be easy to do on ice or we would see a lot more perfect positions.

If that's all the skater can do, she's not a real skater, just an acrobat. So IMO flexibility is not necessary, it's just a very big plus.

I guess I'm one of the few who dislikes that move where Shiz sticks up her leg and lets go. To me that's just a show-off trick that schoolgirls everywhere do in their bedrooms. OK, I grant it's harder on ice, but the position per se is ugly, to me. It compares unfavorably to the comparable movement in ballet, where the dancers slowly unfurl their leg with the music as a peak moment in a pas de deux. Whereas the arabesque spiral in skating is like the ballet move, plus it flies across ice.

But I bow to her Ina Bauer.

ETA: I kinda hate to say it, but these flexi-moves are really only for women. It must be biological - a revelation of the crotch area to display fertility and desirability. It can't be coincidental that in ballet they usually come in the pas de deux.

I think flexibility makes a skater stand out. If Rachael had exactly what she has now, but with Caroline's super-bendy moves thrown in, people probably wouldn't be complaining about how boring she is. I also think that flexibility is sometimes mistaken for artistry. When good to excellent flexibility is paired with musical expression and feeling (some of Caroline's exhibitions, Michelle's many programs) - that's what appeals to me most.

OTOH, good artistry coupled with flexibility sub-standard enough that it promotes an unfinished quality and poor line - that I find distracting (case in point: Yu-Na).

Exactly. I don't think it's fair to harp on the less flexible skaters. It's one thing if they're forcing their bodies to contort into certain positions for difficulty and then, the criticism is rightly so. However, if they're doing positions that are good for their physical capability and it's beautiful to watch, why harp on the fact that they're not flexible. Also being flexible doesn't mean it's necessarily a good thing. We have:

Flexible and pretty
Flexible and run for the hills
Nonflexible and pretty
Nonflexible and run for the hills.

If the position isn't run for the hills, do we need to harp on it? If it is, alright then. For example, Irina's hydrant is what we'd all agree to be run for the hills. Sasha's hydrant is the ideal, IMHO, being the originator, she's the best at it.

I just don't agree with judging skaters' flexibility or lack of on one another. I think it's appreciated, when it appeared with the baby ballerinas, because it was a "WOW" thing. Gymnasts and dancers are more associated with that. Now, I think people appreciate flexibility because of the lines that are produced.

skater with good flexibility and weak lines, Mira Leung comes to mind. She has excellent flexibility, but she doesn't hit many nice positions.

Yuko! I find her adorable - but hello? Incredibly flexible but her line is just weak! It costs them many points for sure, e.g. they never get much GOE on the Throw Triple Loop despite landing it solidly on one foot nearly every time - but her landing position is just so weak and sloppy (Plus, isn't it kind of embarrassing that the 6 ft dude towering over her has a much better line and great extension?)

I kinda hate to say it, but these flexi-moves are really only for women. It must be biological - a revelation of the crotch area to display fertility and desirability. It can't be coincidental that in ballet they usually come in the pas de deux.